BROOKINGS – Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded the Brookings Public Library a $2,500 grant to support youth literacy initiatives. This local grant award is part of more than $3 million in grants awarded this fall to nearly 760 nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools across the 46 states that Dollar General serves.

The Brookings Public Library will use this funding to add to its Wonderbook and Launchpad collections in an effort to increase access to resources that improve youth literacy. A Wonderbook is a print book with a pre-loaded audio player attached to the inside cover, and allows children to choose between reading mode where the narrator reads the story and learning mode where the story ends with a question and answer session to test reading comprehension and knowledge. A Launchpad tablet is designed for kids ages 3-10, and contains pre-loaded education games. The grant funding will allow the Brookings Public Library to supplement their existing Wonderbook and Launchpad collections to provide more opportunities to access these great youth literacy resources.

“The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has been proud to invest in literacy and education programs in the communities we call home for nearly 30 years,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and vice president of corporate social responsibility at Dollar General. “As the educational landscape continues to shift, our hope is that these funds will help increase access and resources for students, educators and communities dedicated to reading and learning.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 14 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.